On Farmcrowdy and Digital Farming in Nigeria.

Adérójú
Jul 27, 2017 · 6 min read

FarmVille, Happy Farm and Farm Town. 3 social networking games many of us millennials are familiar with. Touching on thematic agricultural areas of crop and livestock farming, these games cover the basics of land cultivation, seed planting, crop development, harvesting, storage, raising livestock and the ultimate derivation of monetary value for the sale of farm produce. Despite being limited to virtual reality, these games have over the years succeeded in showcasing how the synergy of technology, strategic partnerships and social interactions boost the agricultural sector.

To replicate this brilliant game model in real life, using actual people, lands, crops and cash to create wealth and value to Africans and the African Economy at large will be outstanding, yes? Onyeka Akumah definitely believes so. With a passion for digital platforms and having a background in poultry farming, technology marketing, e-commerce and building businesses, Akumah, together with his partner, AficanFarmer Mogaji who boasts of 19 years’ experience in crop and livestock farming, launched FARMCROWDY in Lagos, Nigeria, on the 14th of September 2016.

Farmcrowdy is Nigeria’s 1st Digital Agriculture Platform focused on connecting farm sponsors with real farmers in order to increase food production and economic well-being. Nigeria’s potential for agriculturally propelled economic growth was first recognized and exploited by British colonialists in the nineteenth century, well before the discovery of oil, through the commercial exportation of cash crops such as cocoa, cotton, rubber, palm oil, groundnut, timber from Nigeria to Britain.

Going forward and following the 1967–1970 civil war enabled drought, Nigeria experienced serious food shortage. To this end, successive Nigerian post-civil war governments became committed to placing agriculture on the forefront of national development, albeit progressively unsuccessful in their desire to boost development within the sector. Against the many failed government led agricultural projects, and the dismal national economic climate of present, it is good news, and, a plus to our generation, that Farmcrowdy has come at a time like this, providing an avenue not only to increase national food production, but also to boost profit making and create value for all stakeholders in the farming value chain.

Reminiscent of the 1976 Obasanjo led national agribusiness initiative- Operation Feed the Nation, Farmcrowdy primarily focuses on the small scale farmer- particularly women, and is committed to utilizing arable farmlands, enabling national food security, empowering farmers and alleviating poverty, enabling economic equality and promoting youth participation in agriculture. With a platform that brings together landowners, small scale farmers and farm partners (sponsors), Farmcrowdy ensures that farmers with requisite technical farming skills are matched with the necessary resources in terms of capital and land to enable value creation wherein production is supervised, harvests are mopped up and sold and profit is shared in ratios between all stakeholders.

At present, Farmcrowdy is focused on poultry farming, as well as production of essential crops as maize, tomato and cassava, but with an intent to launch into the organic and rare foods space, while also aiming to accommodate the cultivation of longer term crops such as palm and cocoa in the near future. Currently focused on the production stage, Farmcrowdy intends, in due time, to touch on all stages of the value chain, including logistics, warehousing, processing and packaging for exports.

With the agribusiness sector having huge potential for partnerships and, Farmcrowdy, having witnessed tremendous public acceptance and support since inception, was able to partner with over 100 farmers in its first 2 months of operation, and also able to secure favourable investment and buy-ins from Nigerians in the diaspora. Enjoying great reviews over the months, Farmcrowdy already boasts of a swiftly increasing pool of value merchants, with a current record of 4,187 acres of farmlands, 821+ farm sponsors, 1,921 farmers, 862 acres of plantation and 3,211 farm followers.

Evidently, and with a growth of this magnitude, Farmcrowdy is well on its way to scaling nationally, regionally and internationally but Akumah and his team responsibly seek to first perfect their model by initially focusing on a sizable area, which for now, is the South-West of Nigeria. Highlighting how government policies enable agriculture, Farmcrowdy seeks to strategically extend its operations into the LAKAJI corridor- Lagos, Kano, Jibiya, and in extension, Rivers State, to exploit the Federal Government facilitated dams and irrigation systems which will enable farms to run independent of natural climate issues that may prevent rain and water supply.

Farmcrowdy remains alert to aligning itself with government policies which promote agricultural and indigenization plans geared towards strengthening agricultural production, providing subsidised inputs, influencing community development, and access to credit. Ultimately, Farmcrowdy seeks to launch into the 6 national geopolitical zones within the next 24 months, after which the initiative will be set to launch regionally.

By having both partners- Akumah and Mogaji leverage on their expertise, Farmcrowdy builds her pool of value merchants. Akumah sources the farm partners, leaving Mogaji to source the farmers, alongside the farmers referred to them by cooperatives, and those locally sourced within communities wherein lands are leased to them for production. Despite having a physical office in Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria, all of Farmcrowdy’s operations are entirely conducted online.

How does this work?, you ask. The Farmcrowdy website is an interactive platform built to enable farmers, farm partners and farm followers- who basically are people interested in obtaining regular updates about the Farmcrowdy’s initiatives- to register. Farmer to farm sponsor matches are done online and updates to sponsors and followers alike are provided in pictures and videos uploaded unto the website on a bi-weekly basis. Sponsors however have the luxury of being matched to personal in-house community managers who serve as their focal reference point. With weekly visits conducted, farms are supervised by farm extension officers collaborating with live in farm project managers.

Farmcrowdy is big on ensuring quality control along every stage of the production process. To this end, emphasis is placed on working with the right seeds, tilling and preparing lands strategically, using the right pesticides and managing risks, especially those relating to the poultry farming, in ways that do not jeopardize health and/or investments. At harvest, farm produce is sold to a variety of off-takers including bank cooperatives. Profit is shared on a 40–40–20 ratio with the farm partner receiving initial capital with 40% profit on sales, the farmers receiving 40% for themselves and Farmcrowdy keeping 20%.

The value that Farmcrowdy provides to farmers is not just monetary, but also, and more importantly, knowledge based. Farmers are educated on the right ways to handle production and it is to their advantage to progressively learn how to properly manage farms. With the strategic combination of education and financial empowerment, these small scale farmers are better equipped to rise above poverty and attain better economic well-being through Farmcrowdy.

Clearly, Farmcrowdy is not only firmly rooted in, but also progressively contributes to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG2) which recognizes the inter linkages between supporting sustainable agriculture, empowering small farmers, promoting gender equality, ending rural poverty, and other issues, and aims to “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.”

It is no surprise therefore, that for contributions to Agriculture in Nigeria, Farmcrowdy received the “Agro-Innovator of year 2016/2017 Award” by the Nigerian Agriculture Awards, and has been recognised as one of the Business Day’s Top 25 Most Innovative Companies & Institutions in Nigeria.

The Farmcrowdy Mobile App will be launched in 2017. For further information, visit the Farmcrowdy website. Feel free to interact with the CEO Onyeka Akumah on Twitter @OnyekaAkumah

Becoming.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade